What Is a CVV and How Do I Change My Settings?

CVV stands for Card Verification Value; it's the three-digit PIN code printed on the back of MasterCard, Discover and Visa credit cards (or four-digit code printed on the front of American Express cards).

Depending on the bank that issued the card, the CVV code may also be called CSC, CVVC, CVC, CVC2, CCV, CVV2, or iCVV.

PayJunction's Trinity System can be configured to check the CVV pin code associated with a card. The system can reject the transaction if the pin code doesn't match.

PayJunction allows you to configure your CVV security settings "Per each Service, Per each Terminal." For example, if you have two terminal accounts (one for swiped transactions, and one for keyed transactions), you may have different CVV settings for your Virtual Terminal services.

Contrary to popular belief, CVV pin codes generally do not reduce your credit card processing fees. However, CVV is very useful in protecting your business from fraud and is recommended.

New accounts established with PayJunction will have the ideal security settings for safety by default.

Follow these steps to configure your accounts CVV settings.

Click the Process button at the top left of the page.

Click the blue Customize link.

Under Security & Form Settings you will see the CVV/CVV2 options.

Click the Enable selection to turn the security settings on.

Click the Disable selection to turn the security settings on.

Click the Smart selection to make the security settings enabled but NOT required. With this setting enabled, CVV verification will only run if information is provided.